One Kings Lane – It’s Got Customer Service!

This is the tale of a product return. You know, that messy situation that happens from time to time. You order online, only to be dissatisfied for whatever reason with the item when it arrives at your door. It can be quite the conundrum, especially when dealing with discount and flash sales sites, or other online-only sites. And it can be especially tricky when the item is marked as non-returnable.

Such was the case with my recent One Kings Lane purchase. Will this be a happy ending?

A One Kings Lane Purchase

I’ve been a fan of One Kings Lane for awhile now. Recently I’ve been in a redecorating phase, diligently watching their sales, plotting out my next purchases. High on my “to buy” list were three counter height chairs for our kitchen’s center island.

And there they were, front and center at One Kings Lane. My diligence had paid off. My counter chairs, already marked down, were now an even better deal with my 30% off coupon! Further review of the furniture specifications indicated these were indeed the chairs I wanted, meeting the minimum height requirements to match my center island.

I just couldn’t wait any longer. Click! Three chairs purchased. I now anxiously awaited my chairs’ arrival. I was so excited when my chairs were sitting in my driveway just a few short days later. Wow! That was one fast delivery. Score big points for One Kings Lane.

A One Kings Lane Customer Service Request

Sadly, my happiness quickly dimmed. Upon removing one chair from the box and placing it into position, it seemed awfully low, especially when compared to my old chairs. Was it me? Had I shrunk overnight? Out came the yardstick and much to my dismay, the chairs were an inch lower than advertised. Even lower when you sat on the cushy chair seat. That wasn’t good for us short people in the house. Meaning, me.

What to do, what to do? These chairs were “final purchase,” no returns. But it wasn’t my mistake! It was a product mislabeling on the website.

Now, I understand. These things happen. There is a risk when purchasing items from online retailers as you don’t get to see, touch, or try a product before you purchase. And herein lies the true test of any online retailer. What would One Kings Lane do about my “final purchase” chairs? Chairs that, through no fault of my own, were not as advertised.

I quickly emailed One Kings Lane the details of my mislabeled chairs via their customer service page. Then I nervously awaited a response, not sure what to expect. I’ve dealt with other online returns, and honestly, they don’t always go well.

You Have e-Mail!

And there it was in my email in-basket. A response from One Kings Lane. I actually hesitated to open it, not wanting to hear bad news. Finally I did. Not bad news. It was actually promising news. Not a return authorization, but not a denial either.

It was a request for photos showing my dimensionally challenged chairs. Fifteen minutes and two photos later, my digital chair height dispute was off to One Kings Lane. The waiting began again.

Whoa, What’d They Say?

That was my initial reaction when I received One Kings Lane’s response to my photos. Yep – you guessed it. They authorized full reimbursement for the chairs upon return to their warehouse. They even offered an additional 30% off the chairs if we chose to keep them. Which, sadly, we did not. I really liked those chairs. Just didn’t like sitting with my chin practically on the counter!

So began the physical process of returning the chairs to One Kings Lane. Once again, Customer Service came through in shining colors. Within 24 hours of notifying One Kings Lane that indeed, the chairs needed to be returned, the chairs were picked up out of our driveway and on their way back to the One Kings Lane distributor. A full refund was issued shortly thereafter.

Total time to resolve our height-challenged chair issue? Twelve days, from start to finish. Subtract the five days that we took to consider keeping the chairs for the additional 30% off, One Kings Lane took seven days to respond, and then retrieve, the chairs. I think that’s pretty darned good service!

One Kings Lane Customer Service = Top Notch!

One Kings Lane just earned a top-notch customer service award from me! And I will most definitely shop there again.

Shopping online can result in some great deals, but it can also leave one frustrated if that item is less than expected. The true test of an online business is how it handles a customer complaint. Usually one only reads about customer service “goes bad.” But I’m here today to say that yes, indeed, there still is good customer service out there!

Have you had a particularly good customer service experience you’d like to share? Tell us about it in the Comments section below.

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Images from One Kings Lane and Wikipedia.

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Comments

I guess that’s one reason I don’t buy anything much online because you never know if what you see is what you’ll get! I too tried it once but they never refunded anything, nor was my product replaced and it left me all bitter about it. Yes, thereafter I did try other things, though only a few, and that worked well.

I think if you know of a good service or website who will refund and replace if need be, you should go for it, or else be careful. 🙂

Hi Harleena, thanks for stopping by. I have a hard time finding what I want at prices I am willing to pay locally, which is why I often turn to online purchases. And admittedly I’have had a few bad experiences along the way. Though overall, I have had many more successes to my failures. I tend to over-research a business before I buy online. I must have followed One Kings Lane six months before I decided to make a purchase with them. I checked consumer reports, reviews, whatever I could find before making the decision to buy from them. There are other online businesses out there that I won’t buy from, because I’ve read sketchy customer service reports about them.

You are absolutely right! People are quick to write about bad customer service but many times good customer service goes unnoticed. But good customer service turns into good word of mouth and that is the best advertising a company can do 🙂

Those chairs were beautiful. Too bad they were not the correct height. Good for you for following up though. You never know until you ask, and good for them for making it all a positive experience for you.

Hi Sicorra, You said exactly why I decided to write this post – too much bad news, and very little positive. It just seems we are so quick to criticize or report the “bad stuff” and not so quick to compliment or thank the “good stuff”.

And yes, I was so very sad to send those chairs back. I’ve learned that you just have to ask – and sometimes you need to ask more than one person. Not here, but I’ve done that for price matches in my local stores. It really does work!

I hate returning products. The hassle of packing and mailing back. If the item is small, I just write it off as a bad decision. Foolish? Yes, but I get lazy about certain things.Astro Gremlin recently posted..Find Top Amazon Products

Hi Astro Gremlin, thanks for stopping by. I too hate returning products, but I love a great bargain, therefore I continue to hunt online. Admittedly, I too have had a few items that I just didn’t return – wasn’t worth my time. So I donated them.

I too have viewed One Kings Lane for months and was just delivered an unsatisfactory decision by OKL. I found a chest and the dimensions and description seemed off/incorrect. I called a placed an Inquiry/Clarification that was to be coming that day. The sale was going to end so I placed my order. If the chest was actually the 24″x18″x26″ and not the 53″x20″x32″ I expected I would make it work. The inquiry was received 3 days later confirming my original expectations so was delighted. What was delivered was a table not shown or pictured anywhere in the sale. I too contacted OKL and they have stalled for 3 weeks. They offered the 30% discount to keep a table I never ordered or wanted (it’s ugly!) and offered a refund. The issue is they “tried” to get another chest – bogus – I bought the one offered and pictured. By sending the inquiry I Gave them an opportunity to check the price, size and item – they had no objections or problems. Now the price was an error in my favor – again my inquiry gave them time to deny the price. OKL has an ethical responsibility to honor my purchase and likely a legal obligation. OKL needs to put their big girl/boy panties on and make this right. If they won’t make this right I will exercise my right to free speech and advise customers to shop at trustworthy sites but not OKL. Too sad – they should make it right.

Hi Helen, I am so sorry you had a poor experience with OKL. I am actually quite surprised too. We had a similar experience in that the chairs were not per the online spec’s and they did offer me an additional 30% off to keep them, but as soon as I turned that down, my chairs were picked up, my money refunded.
Keep at them – I know it sucks when this kind of stuff happens, but hopefully they will make it right.
FYI – I am actually in another “poor customer service” issue, this time with a major furniture/window treatment store. So not fun! Sales rep quoted something that when the installer came by for final measurements, said that wasn’t the best product for the spot. Since it’s past the “72 hour cancellation window”, they are “resisting “cancelling the order. So I have to put on my fighting gloves – which I’m really not that good at!